Syria’s national carrier, Syrian Arab Airlines (SyrianAir), has signed up for the FASTRAC revenue accounting system from Mercator, the IT division of the Emirates Group.

The deal strengthens Mercator’s customer base amongst member airlines of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), with Syrian Arab Airlines becoming the seventh AACO airline to become a Mercator customer.

Syrian Air has selected the passenger version of FASTRAC, which analyses the data printed on air tickets and converts it into the critical financial and management information that an airline needs to compete effectively.

Nibal Ismail, Director Information Technology and Communication for Syrian Air, said: “FASTRAC will give us everything we need to automate and streamline our revenue accounting operation. The system will help us speed up cash flow, cut costs, prevent fraud and boost our revenues.

“This is a critical project for us, and once FASTRAC has been implemented we will have made another significant step towards the transformation of Syrian Air into a major regional player.”

FASTRAC is specifically designed for small and medium sized airlines, offering all the functionality needed for top class revenue accounting such as sales, uplifts, proration and interline billing.

It is set to bring Syrian Air major business benefits by supporting its growth plans, strengthening its income, raising productivity and boosting commercial confidence.

Syrian Arab Airlines operates scheduled services to more than 42 destinations in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North Africa with a fleet of 16 aircraft. 2004 saw more than one million international passengers flying across the airline’s network.

Frank Zenke, Mercator’s Vice President Sales and Market Development, said: “FASTRAC’s already impressive track record combined with our unrivalled expertise, makes it an extremely attractive proposition for small to medium sized airlines. Once implementation has been completed, Syrian Air will have a strong financial foundation from which they can take their business to greater heights.”

Mercator’s customer base includes major world carriers such as Emirates, SriLankan, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Air New Zealand, and Varig. Many Arab Air Carrier Organisation (AACO) member airlines are also Mercator customers, including Air Algerie, Kuwait Airways, MEA, Royal Air Maroc and Yemenia.-ends